Dragonfire
by Reykoveyza
Summary: An AU story where Viserys lives, and he and Daenerys fall in love. The Targaryens are crossing the Narrow Sea on dragonback to reclaim their birthright. But enemies surround them, and with other Targaryens resurfacing, they way to the Iron Throne will not be smooth. They are bound together by fire and by blood. They are the blood of the dragon, and this is their story.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic. After reading and re-reading the ASOIAF series again and again, I have come to the realisation that I *hate* what GRRM, amazing as he is, has done to some of the characters. Viserys, for example. He shouldn't have died. Ever. So this is my little way of mending my broken heart, and bringing Viserys back to life and with Dany in the way that he always should have been for those of us who can never get enough Targaryen love. I hope you enjoy it, please do review!**

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_Dany nodded at Ser Barristan. "You are right, Ser. It is time my children and I went home."_

_That night she addressed Mereen. "I am your queen, but another country awaits me and my dragons. I will give Mereen back to itself, for I am returning to Westeros. I will take my Unsullied with me, but my Brazen Beasts will remain here, the new guards of Mereen."_

_"And us, Mother?" a freedman called out. Drogon reared his head from where he lay coiled on the balcony and sent a sudden jet of flame hissing into the air. Dany smiled. He grew stronger every day._

_"All who can fight are welcome to join us, men and women. Only the strong will survive this march." Dany looked down at her freed people, and her heart broke a little to be leaving them behind, but she knew it was what must be done. Westeros awaited her, falling into rack and ruin, torn apart by war. _

_She had been thinking of the prophecy, too. _When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east._ When Dany left the east and returned to Westeros, her home. When she and her dragons ruled her kingdom once more, her womb would quicken with Viserys' child._

_Viserys appeared behind her then, and pulled at her arm. "Come back inside, sweet sister. I want you."_

_Dany smiled, joyously. Viserys was changed, so changed, since the death of her sun-and-stars. He told her the truth, about all those years – how much he loved her, how much he had feared he would lose her, and had tried to distance himself from her, to prove to them both that he didn't need her. How he had lost her, to Drogo. But now she was his again, as she always should have been. And he grew closer to Viserion every day. Daenerys dreamed of the day when they would fly together on dragonback, over the sea to their kingdom, to rule as the rightful king and queen._

_She turned away from the balcony, back into the pyramid, and Viserys traced her cheekbone with his thumb, bending to nip her lower lip with his teeth as she leant backwards into the bed….._


	2. Chapter 2

_The march was hard, and long, and days blended into one. Days spent riding her silver beside Viserys, Aggo, Jhoqo and Rakharo shadowing them. Feeding the dragons, who grew every day. Teaching them simple commands by rewarding them with titbits of fresh lamb – up, down, left, right, dracarys. Nights spent whispering with Viserys, who loved her more every day. "The Valyrians shall fly again," he would murmur. _

_The Unsullied were stoic and unbending, though a few succumbed to the heat. Daenerys and Viserys revelled in it. Just as they had discovered when Drogo crowned him, and she stepped into the flames with her eggs, fire cannot kill a dragon. The freedmen became more and well-disciplined as they trained with the Unsullied, and as they progressed down the old Valyrian road, more slaves and peasants joined their banner every day. None challenged them – who would dare? With dragons, the Tagaryens were truly invincible._

_One day, when Dany awoke in Viserys' arms, as normal, he kissed her on the brow and smiled, his violet eyes warm. "Its time, my sweet," he told her. "The dragons are huge now. We could fly."_

_Daenerys beamed. She knew he was right. "We'll fly here, at first," she whispered, "over our armies, but later, we'll fly over Westeros."_

_"Over battlefields, at first," Viserys warned. "We can't expect to have no enemies."_

_"But later," Dany insisted. "Later. We'll fly all over Westeros. To Dorne, and the gardens made for my namesake, and to the Neck and the north, to the Wall, to Queen's keep – I'll make it Queen's Keep again!"_

_"We'll fly _beyond_ the wall if you wish it, my queen," Viserys promised._

_They went to the dragons then, to Drogon and Viserion and Rhaegal. Viserys let Dany greet her children first, and then went to Viserion himself. "Hello, sweeting," he murmured to the great beast. Dany smiled to hear his name for her addressed to a dragon, and rubbed her hands over Drogon's neck. "We'll fly now, my sun-and-stars," she whispered. She knew that Drogon was not her dead husband, but somehow she thought Drogo would be happy if he looked down from his starry khalasar to see Dany mounted on a dragon with his name, flying to reclaim the kingdom they had promised their son._

_"I don't know why you named the black beast after the savage," Viserys exclaimed suddenly. Viserion flared his wings, reacting to the anger in his tone. Drogon hissed and arched his neck over Dany. Dany soothed him, stroking the thick, rock-hard hide._

_"I named him after all those I thought I'd lost," Dany said. "You, our brother, my son, and my husband."_

_"I'm sorry," Viserys apologised, his anger leaving as soon as it had come. "I love you, sweetling, you know I do. But to think of you with that savage – it burns me inside."_

_Dany smiled. "I loved Drogo, but before I loved him, I loved you. And I still love you. Blood and fire, Viserys – that is what links us. A bond far stronger than marriage. We were both burned, and we are both blood of the dragon."_

_"Marriage may be a weak bond, but I think that I want it anyway," Viserys said softly. "I love you, and I want to show the world that you're my queen, not the widowed khaleesi of some barbarian. You're my sister and you'll be my queen and I want you to be my wife. I want us to get married, Dany." _

_"Truly?" Dany asked, her breath hitching. Despite her dragons and their renewed love, some childish part of her had retained a fear that Viserys would try and sell her again, wed her to some lord of Westeros for a few swords._

_"Truly," Viserys said, his face anxious. "I hated giving you to Drogo, hated it more than I can ever say. It burned me more than his 'crown' ever did. Please, Dany, will you be my wife?"_

_A tear crept slowly down Dany's face. "Yes, Viserys, yes, of course! That's all I ever wanted."_

_Viserys sobbed with joy, and nearly ran across the gap between them, ducking under Drogon's protective foreleg to embrace his sister. "I love you, Daenerys."_

_Dany let him hold her, and then pulled away. "Come. Let's fly, brother."_

_Viserys lifted her onto Drogon's forearm, and Drogon lowered his head so that Dany could clamber across onto his neck and settle herself just behind the spiny crest of his head, holding onto a bony spike that jutted out just between her legs, resting her back against another behind her. Drogon's neck was hot and hard, his hide as strong as stone. She looked across at Viserys, who was just seating himself on Viserion's neck. He looked up, caught her eye, and broke into a smile, the gaunt lines of his face softening as he looked at her. Dany felt tears in her eyes again. She loved him so, she always had. And now he was healed – no longer weak and foolish, but strong and whole as he had been long ago, healed by their love and their dragons. He was the man she had always known he could be._

_They spoke the command together, their lips shaping the word. "Fly."_

_The dragons leaped skyward together, powerful hind legs throwing them into the air, their wings catching the wind and beating downwards, creating a downdraft that flattened the grass beneath and bore them upwards. Dany's breath left her as she watched the ground recede with every beat of Drogon's wings. He tilted a little to the left, catching a thermal, and Dany slipped sideways, and caught at the spine before her, her heart pounding. Beneath them, Rhaegal roared, and took off too, her green-and-bronze hide sparkling below. Drogon opened his mouth and screamed a response, the sound a wondrous, awful song somewhere between a bellow and a rattling hiss. The music of dragons. The sun caught the delicate red patterns on his jet-black scales and threw bright reflections back into Dany's eyes. Red and black, she thought. The Targaryen colours, my colours. Fire and blood, fire and blood – fire. _

_"Fire, Drogon!" she screamed into the wind, shrill and jubilant. "_Dracarys_!"_

_Drogon's huge jaws opened before her and fire rushed from between them, scalding hot, red and white and gold and yellow, a hundred different colours streaming like a pennant before them, fire that would reclaim Dany's birthright, fire that would burn everything on this planet but her and Viserys._

_Viserys! Where was he? Dany looked behind her, and slid sideways on Drogon's neck to see below. There was Rhaegal, circling effortlessly, like a hunting hawk, and below him was Dany's army, a little black circle on the ground. She was shocked to see how high they had come into this endless azure sky. But where was Viserys?_

_A roar echoed up from below them as Viserion's gleaming white bulk dropped like a stone towards the ground. Daenerys' heart stopped. Viserys!_

_She didn't think twice. "Drogon, dive!" she leaned forward on his neck, trying to direct his head to the earth. But she hadn't taught him to dive, not yet. "Down! Down, Drogon!" her words were almost lost in the gale of wind that nearly tore her from Drogon's back as he clamped his wings to his side and plummeted earthwards. Clinging desperately to his neck-spine, tears were forced out of Dany's eyes by the wind, her hair whipping behind her, the skin on her face nearly ripped away. She didn't cry out, her only fear being for her brother, her eyes fixed on Viserion._

_Suddenly, another hissing shriek shook her, and Rhaegal whipped beneath them, far too close. Instinctively, Drogon flared his wings, and their crazed descent stopped as Drogon began to circle again. Fearfully, Dany peered below, just in time to see Viserion's wings unfold as he skimmed over the ground, seemingly close enough to stretch out his legs and land. And crouched on his neck, emitting faint whoops of exhilaration, was Viserys. Dany smiled with relief and let Drogon fly where he would, swooping almost lazily through the sky, graceful and effortless. Rhaegal followed him closely, letting out shrill hisses of annoyance and smoke every now and then. Dany smiled at her youngest child. She loved her too. _

_"Tell her I love her, Drogon," she whispered to her firstborn, her strongest child. She was never sure how much of her speech Drogon understood, but he seemed to listen, flicking his tapered ears back on his head to hear her voice. A low rumble throbbed through his whole body, vibrating Dany, as he responded. She rubbed his neck, smiling to herself. "I love you too, Drogon."_

_She looked upwards, reminded again of Drogo. "If you are watching, my sun-and-stars," she whispered, "I hope you look on me kindly. I love you, but I was always meant for Viserys. It is what the gods intended when they spared us."_

_Drogon growled again, and he began to climb once more, spiralling upward, leaving Rhaegal far below, snapping idly at small clouds and gusts of winds. Dany decided to test his training. _

_"Left," she said, tapping his left side, and he immediately lowered his wing on the left side and turned in a slow circle. Dany beamed and wished that she had some meat to reward him with. She would have to work on more commands: one for levelling out._

_"Dany!" a cry from beneath rang out. Drogon looked down, allowing Dany to see between the spines of his crest. Viserion was climbing too, not that far below them. "Dany!" Viserys called again. "Wait!"_

_Dany wasn't sure how to ask Drogon to wait, but Viserion hissed deep in his throat, and Drogon circled patiently until Viserion was beside him._

_"This is amazing!" Viserys called across, his silver hair tousled, his cheeks red from the wind, his lilac eyes bright and joyous. He looked years younger, carefree and youthful. _

_"Fly, Drogon," Dany said, and Drogon beat his wings and began to fly rapidly away from Viserion, who snarled in protest and set off in pursit. Rhaegal's frustrated roar rang out behind them._

_"Where are we going, sister?" Viserys shouted over the wind, clinging like a little boy to Viserion's spine. _

_"To Westeros!" Dany called back. "We're going home!"_

_Viserys laughed, and Dany looked up at the sky, where she knew the stars were even during the day, hiding, and thanked her _khal_ or the gods or whoever was responsible for her brother and her children the dragons, thanked them from the bottom of her heart._

_Rhaegal called again, from nearer this time, and her smaller, slightly quicker frame whipped beneath them. Dany leaned out to look for her. "Rhaegal!"_

_Drogon rumbled in warning and shifted his course to the right, forcing Viserion to fold his wings and drop away beneath them, as Rhaegal streamed up like a vertical green banner to the left, roaring and belching smoke. "Rhaegal!" Dany called again._

_Rhaegal reappeared to Drogon's left, flying on a level with him. Drogon hissed and whipped his tail at her, and she dropped down to Viserion's level. "Don't worry, my sweet one," Dany soothed him. "We all know that you are the lord of the dragons."_

_Rhaegal snorted out a burst of fire, and Dany felt sorrowful that her other brother was not here with them. The dragon has three heads. Rhaegal was riderless, and jealous of the attention given to her brothers. Until the third head was found – most likely when Dany bore Viserys' child – Dany would just have to ride two of her children._

_She stood, slowly, uncertainly, balanced precariously on Drogon's neck, holding the spine before her. Drogon growled, discomforted. "It's all right," Dany promised him, before turning to where Rhaegal flew below._

_"Daeneys!" Viserys' cry rang out in alarm, and Viserion bugled his rider's fear. "What are you doing?"_

_Dany almost laughed. "Mothering." Then she leaped out into space, plummeting earthward. Drogon's scream of fury and alarm was instantaneous, making her ears ring, and Viserys shouted her name. But then she fell, with a horrible thud, onto Rhaegal's back. Rhaegal hissed in fear and rolled sideways in the air to get this unknown missile off her, and then Dany was falling again, with no dragon beneath her now. for half a second she was proud of Rhaegal's advancement – she hadn't even known that aerial manoeuvre was possible – but then she began to call out, shocking herself with how calm and commanding her voice was. "Rhaegal! Rhaegal! Catch me!"_

_She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself not to look at the rapidly approaching ground, focusing all her will on calling her dragon to her. "Rhaegal! Rhaegal!"_

_Suddenly, she was no longer falling. An iron grip had closed firmly around her: she was lying on something. Tentatively, Dany opened her eyes, half-expecting to see her khal before her, but all that met her eyes was the black and red of Drogon's skin, his three talons curved carefully around her, creating a loose cage that stood between her and the empty sky. Dany pressed her head against Drogon's toe and sobbed with relief. "Thank you, Drogon. Thank you, my sun-and-stars."_

_Viserion appeared alongside, and Viserys called out fearfully. "Dany? Daenerys? Are you all right, sister? Dany?"_

_"I'm here," Dany managed to shout. "I'm alive."_

_"What in seven hells were you thinking?" Viserys swore furiously at her. "If the dragons weren't already awake, all three of them, you – you would have woken it then, Dany!"_

_Daenerys laughed a humourless laugh. This was the closest she and Viserys had been able to come to joking about their past. _

_Drogon snarled, a terrifying, glorious sound, and Rhaegal appeared beneath them, flying slowly now, carefully. If Dany hadn't known better she would have said that the green dragon looked sheepish._

_Drogon slowly lowed himself towards Rhaegal's head, keeping up a warning growl all the while, and though Rhaegal flinched a little, she didn't shy away._

_Slowly, almost tenderly, Drogon extended his talon towards Rhaegal, who hissed. Drogon snapped his jaws irritably and Rhaegal fell silent. With the carefulness of a glassmaker, Drogon opened his claws and placed Dany on Rhaegal's back, waiting until she was firmly astride before he moved away a little, folding his talons beneath him but still flying close, just above Rhaegal, his black iridescent eye focused constantly on Dany._

_Viserys kept looking at her too, as though he feared she might throw herself off Rhaegal's back now. Dany shuddered. He needn't worry. Jumping off dragonback was a mistake Dany would never make again._

_They flew back to camp, with Drogon hovering over Rhaegal like an anxious mother hen over its only chick, and Viserion flying close below. They fanned out to land, and Drogon growled at Rhaegal until she carefully lowered her neck and placed her head on the ground to allow Dany to dismount safely. Dany turned to Rhaegal first, and stretched up to rub her fingers over Rhaegal's eye ridge, something she loved. Rhaegal shut her great green eye and purred like a cat, leaning her huge head into the caress. Drogon snarled angrily and Rhaegal whipped her head back as though she had been scalded. Drogon pointedly placed his own head on the ground and waited until Dany laughed and began to scratch his nose. _

_Viserys was there then, snatching Dany into his arms and holding her to him. "You idiot! You cretin, you fool, you idiot! What were you thinking? You almost died!"_

_Dany put her arms around him as he hugged her fiercely, protectively. Drogon rumbled in displeasure and reared his head up again._

_"I'm fine, I'm safe," Dany soothed her brother, shocked to see the tears on his face. "Viserys – it's all right –"_

_"No its not!" he snapped. "I almost lost you! You idiot girl! You must never, ever try anything like that again!" he seemed ready to shake her. _

_"Viserys…" Dany said quietly, and Viserys breathed deeply, collecting himself._

_"I'm sorry, sweeting," he apologised sadly. "But if I lost you now – after all we've been through – I can't bear the thought."_

_Dany hugged him tighter, glad now._

_They stayed like that for a while, until Rhaegal began to hiss impatiently again, and took off in a flurry of dust. Viserion glanced at Viserys, and spread his wings to follow her. Drogon snorted in disapproval and maintained his protective position over Dany, one wing arched over her and her brother._

_Dany pulled away first. "Which way will the camp be?"_

_"It would be easier to see from the air," Viserys said. "But I don't want to fly again today. Lets recover."_

_"Viserys," Dany smiled, shaking her head. "I'll be riding Drogon into battle soon. You can't be so protective. You and Viserion will never get far enough from us."_

_"I know," Viserys sighed. "I suppose its lucky that your black beast is so protective. Though Balerion would have been a more appropriate namesake for him than your savage."_

_"I loved Drogo," Dany said sharply. "Stop calling him that. He was my husband, Viserys, and you chose him for me!"_

_Viserys looked shocked. "I know – but – I – I was jealous. I still am. I don't like to hear his name on your lips. I want us to forget him."_

_"I can't," Dany said simply. "He was my sun-and-stars, I was the moon of his life. He was the father of all my dragons. Rhaego was his son. I had a son with him, Viserys. I had a family. I can't just forget them – because you're jealous. It was your choice."_

_"It was the wrong choice," her brother responded. "A foolish one that I have regretted since I made it. I am sorry for it, Dany, and I always will be. But I can't get over my jealousy, just like you can't forget the sav– your horselord."_

_Dany turned her face away. "Viserys, I love you."_

_Viserys smiled with relief and brushed a strand of hair back from her face. "And I love you. So all our jealousy and dead husbands don't really matter, do they? After all, we'll be king and queen some day. Ruling together, as equals, you and I."_

_Turning back to him with earnest eyes, Dany shook her head. "Viserys, I love you, but I can't give you more than that. I can't obliterate my past for you. I won't."_

_Viserys kissed her forehead. "And that hurts me, but it is my own fault, is it not? Forgive me my jealousy, let me forget _my_ past, and you can remember the horselord to your heart's content."_

_"My queen!" a voice sounded in the distance, and Dany looked up to see Ser Barristan approaching at a flat-out gallop, his horse sweating, foam caked around its mouth. Drogon hissed as he approached, a long, low rattle like a snake. _

_Dany nodded as her knight reined in his horse. "Ser."_

_"My queen, you did not tell anyone that you and your brother were to fly," Ser Barristan said anxiously as he dismounted and knelt to her._

_"That's King Viserys to you, Selmy," Viserys snapped, his imperious, hard self again. Only Dany saw the true man within him._

_The aged knight dipped his grey head. "Of course." He turned his attention back to Dany. "If we could return to camp, my queen? It is hot out here today: I worry for your grace's health."_

_"It is only hot for those who wear full armour on the dothraki sea," Viserys sneered. Dany could not resist a smile, remembering Viserys' one-time discomfort, before he learned to go without a shirt. Viserys looked down at her, and though his mouth remained emotionless, his eyes sparked with mirth and she knew he remembered too._

_Selmy dipped his head again, and addressed Dany once more. "Your bloodriders and Ser Jorah have ridden out in search of you, my liege. If you will return with me – or take my horse, your grace – we can recall them."_

_Dany smiled down at her old knight, but she could feel the tension in Viserys' body. He hated Ser Jorah almost as much as he hated Drogo, and was convinced that he had designs on Dany. Dany herself was uncomfortable around Ser Jorah now, since he revealed his lust for her. He made her uncomfortable, though she was not afraid of him. The dragon fears no man. _

_"There is no need for you to give me your horse, Ser," she responded to Ser Barristan. "I have Drogon here, after all."_

_Viserys snorted. "But since Viserion has left us, perhaps I may take the horse." He looked sardonically at the old knight. "If, of course, Ser Greyhame will allow me the honour of borrowing his nag?"_

_Ser Barristan, to his credit, showed no sign of having been insulted, but merely inclined his head to Dany. "If that is what her grace wishes."_

_Viserys let go of Dany abruptly, but not before she had felt him shaking with rage. "It is what I wish, dog," Viserys spat. "I am your king. Do not make me call Viserion back to teach you some manners."_

_The knight raised his wrinkled face now, and a hint of steel showed in his expression. "I am captain of the queensguard – her grace has taken no husband and thus there is no king."_

_"I am king!" Viserys snarled, and raised his hand as though to strike Selmy across the face._

_"Viserys!" Dany said, and he stopped abruptly. He breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling, and he looked from his raised hand to the knight kneeling before him, and back to Dany. He clenched his jaw and let his hand fall, turning his face away. he turned and stalked away into the grasses, his cry ringing out – "Viserion! Viserion!"_

_Dany watched her brother go, her sadness plain on her face. Viserys still had demons; far too many. He was still prideful and vain, and he still struggled to control his temper. But at least he _could_ control it now, and did so willingly._

_Viserion shrieked overhead, as he flew down to land in the grass where Viserys waited unseen. Drogon rumbled and spread his wings, stretching them to their fullest extent before settling them back in their protective curve over Dany. He was anxious to be gone. _

_Ser Barristan still waited for Dany's orders, his head bowed and emotionless. "Thank you, Ser," Dany said finally, in a quiet voice. "Your concern for me does you credit. Ride back to camp now. Do not trouble yourself about recalling my kos. Drogon and I will fly ourselves. Now I know I can do it, and he needs the excersise." _

_Selmy dipped his head and rose. Dany bit her lip. "And Ser?"_

_"Your grace?" he turned back._

_"Please address my brother as king from now on," Dany said, more of a plea than a command. "He will be a good king. You do not know him like I do."_

_"Of course," Ser Barristan agreed automatically. "But your grace – if I have your leave to speak plainly?" He waited for Dany's nod before he continued. "Your brother is not the ruler you are. He has too much of Aerys in him. I fear for Westeros, if he rules."_

_"Remember we will rule together," Dany said. "As equals."_

_"But he is angry, your grace," Ser Barristan said earnestly. "Angry and filled with pride and vanity. He is too impulsive. He cannot be trusted with decisions of warfare."_

_"He has suffered much," Dany murmured. "More than even I know. He has sacrificed much and more for me in the past. He is my brother, Ser, and a Targaryen. Fire and blood – he is filled with fire."_

_"Fire unchecked can wreak vast damage," Ser Barristan warned.  
"His is not unchecked. He is changing daily – he has made so much progress. A few years ago he would have beheaded you for not addressing him as king. Now he merely walked away."_

_"To a dragon," the knight pointed out. "Are you sure he should be trusted with Viserion, your grace?"_

_"The dragon has three heads," Dany responded. "Viserion chose him. Ser Barristan, the gods restored my brother to me from beyond death. There was a reason for that. We are the rightful rulers of Westeros, Ser. Both of us."_

_Ser Barristan dipped his head again. "Then if you trust him, I trust him, highness." He turned away and mounted his horse, and Dany tapped Drogon on the flank, and he lowered his great neck to allow her to climb on._

_"Until tonight, Ser!" Dany called, as Drogon raised her above him. Ser Barristan's anxious mount tore away from the dragon as he put his spurs to it, and Drogon threw back his head and roared at the top of his voice, shaking the earth, as Dany whispered to him: "Fly."_

_He leapt into the air, his heavily muscled wings carrying them high into the air. Ser Barristan dwindled into a speck at once, falling away below them. Drogon circled once or twice, and then set off in an easterly direction. Dany looked to where the camp was, away to the west of them, and tapped Drogon's neck lightly. "Left." He adjusted his course and flew lower, perfectly in tune with Dany's thoughts. It was mere minutes before they came upon Rakharo, who was trying to control his white-eyed horse as he waved up at them. Dany touched Drogon again. "Down, my darling. Let's land."_

_Drogon slowly desended, hovering for a moment before placing his legs delicately upon the grass either side of Rakharo's frantic mount, before folding his wings and leaning forward, putting his weight on them as he twisted his long neck around to watch the horse hungrily as Dany dismounted, smiling at her bloodrider._

_"Blood of my blood," Rakharo leapt off his horse and grinned at her, speaking in the dothraki tongue. "I am glad you are safe. We all thought the black monster had carried you and the sorefoot king away to eat. I did not care so much about Khal Rhaggat, but you are important, khaleesi."_

_"I am safe, as you can see, blood of my blood," Dany smiled. "And so you can return to the camp. I am on my way to seek out Jhogo and Aggo and tell them to return too. It would never do to allow my bloodriders to get lost in the great sea, would it?"_

_Rakharo laughed, his smooth young face light. "It is you who is always lost, khaleesi. That is why we must search for you."_

_Dany laughed, but her mind was still on what Ser Barristan had said about Viserys. "Blood of my blood, I must ask you an important question. Will you answer it honestly?"_

_"Of course, khaleesi," Rakharo nodded, sober at once. _

_"Do you despise my brother?"_

_Rakharo frowned as he pondered the question. "He walked, and a man who does not ride is no man at all. This is known. He called himself a khal, but he had no khalasar. He tried to hurt you, that time in the grass, and I must despise and hate anyone who would harm you, blood of my blood. All this you know. But after Drogo crowned him, he seemed changed. He is calmer now, a little."_

_Dany smiled, relieved that Rakharo too had seen Viserys changed. "You are observant, blood of my blood."_

_Rakharo laughed. "I must stop men killing you, khaleesi. If I saw nothing, how could I do that? But to answer your question – at one time, I believed that I did despise Khal Rhaggat. But now I am not so sure. He rides a dragon now, no mere horse, and he seems as though he has become your khal. He is no longer loud and furious – his anger is more reined in, like a vicious horse that pretends to be tame, only to kill its owner with a kick from behind. I would say that now, I fear him instead."_

_"That is not the answer I hoped for," Dany sighed. "I believe that my brother is a good man, on the inside. He is kind and brave and he has sacrificed so much for me."_

_"Perhaps that is why only you can see in his heart," Rakharo offered. "If he has given up much for you, like a stallion who lets himself be captured so that his herd have time to escape, then he must love you, and will show you things that he shows to no other. Perhaps, with you as his khaleesi, he can grow to be good and kind to others also."_

_Dany sniffed, and hugged Rakharo, resting her head on his copper skin, so like Drogo's. "Thank you, blood of my blood. You have eased my heart." Rakharo's hands hovered awkwardly for a moment, and then he lightly rested them on her upper back, barely touching her until she withdrew, apologising._

_"Don't apologise, khaleesi," he smiled. "After all, I have not yet met a woman who could resist me."_

_Dany laughed and leaned against Drogo's muzzle, which still hovered beside her. "Your head is so big it will brush Drogon as he flies soon."_

_"That is not all I have which is large, khaleesi," Rakharo raised his eyebrows with a wide smile. _

_Dany was still laughing as she remounted Drogon. "Go back to the camp, blood of my blood. Try not to trip over your large appendages on the way."_

_"I may visit your tent, khaleesi," Rakharo called up. "Jhiqui likes me, I think. Perhaps Irri, too. Maybe both of them!"_

_"Fly, Drogon!" Dany shouted through her giggles. "Fly!"_

_Drogon leapt skyward once more, leaving Rakharo below. Dany flew in a large circle around the camp, meeting Aggo and Jhoqo on the way, telling them both to return to the camp. She continued to fly after that, musing on what Ser Barristan and Rakharo, her favourite bloodrider, had told her about Viserys. She also stayed aloft in case he and Viserion should reappear and he wanted to speak to her alone. Few places were more private than this empty sky. Rhaegal joined them after a while, flapping beside Drogon and exchanging a few chirrups and hisses with him. Dany wished that she could understand the speech of her children. She tried to mimic one of their chirping noises, which they used only when they were feeling peacable with one another. Rhaegal looked sharply at her, while Drogon only made a low, ragged growl that sounded a little like laughter. Dany thought about her children. They none of them had fixed genders, she knew that, but she had always thought of Drogon and Viserion as her sons, and Rhaegal as her daughter. She wondered if that was their correct genders, at least currently – but who could tell a dragon's gender? Would Rhaegal, if she was female, come into heat soon? Could a dragon get any hotter? Drogon would rise to fly with her, of course – Viserion could never defeat him._

_Rhaegal seemed to become bored after a while, and began to fly in loops and spirals over and around Drogon, first coming closer to him, then darting away. Dany wondered if it was just play, or the beginnings of courtship. Drogon didn't respond, though; he only growled irritably if Rhaegal passed to close to his neck, where Dany sat. Rhaegal persisted at first, and then hissed in annoyance, showing all her gleaming black teeth and the smoke curling out of her mouth, and then pinned her wings to her sides and dropped like a stone out of sight. Dany leaned forward to pat Drogon's neck. "You don't have to guard me always, my sun-and-stars. You could set me down at camp, leave me there, go to fly with Rhaegal, play, mate with her if you can. You are dear to me, Drogon, but I don't ask you to be my nursemaid."_

_Drogon purred at the sound of her voice but only harrumphed when she had finished speaking. Dany sighed. "I know you can understand me; I know it. I only wish I could understand you."_

_Drogon cocked his head to look down at the ground and made a noise in his throat. _

_"What is it, shekh ma shieraki anni?" Dany asked, enjoying the Dothraki words._

_Dipping a wing, Drogon circled down, allowing Dany to see what he was looking at. Ser Jorah Mormont, craning his neck up to look at them as they descended, raising an armored fist in a gesture of welcome._

_"Land a distance from him, Drogon," Dany said reluctantly. "I don't really want to see him."_

_Drogon made to fly upwards again, but Dany laughed and patted him firmly. "No. we must, now."_

_"My queen!" Jorah called as they landed, spurring his horse into a gallop towards them. Dany flinched at the possessive tone to his voice. She hated it. As though this man, this crippled, aged, exiled bear, could own her, a dragonrider, queen of the skies! No man could own her but her sun-and-stars, who was dead, and Viserys, her soulmate. _

_"Ser," she said slowly, not dismounting. Drogon kept his neck high, forcing Ser Jorah to look up at her._

_"Daenerys," Jorah said, his tone reprimanding. "Come down and greet me."_

_Dany clenched her jaw, furious as ever she had seen Viserys. "I could have you killed for that."_

_Jorah laughed and rode closer. "If you wanted me killed, you would have set your dragon on me long ago. You want me, Daenerys."_

_Dany felt her nostrils flaring with rage. "I do not! You presume too much, Ser!"_

_"Come down from there," Jorah said sharply. "I want you now, Daenerys. You have kept me waiting too long."_

_Dany looked down at him, trying to put all of her disdain and disgust for him into her eyes. "Come no closer, Ser. I have never wanted you. Why do you persist in these advances?"_

_Jorah rode closer. "Liar. You wanted me from the moment you saw me. When you were bedding your khal, you thought of me. As you're fucking your incestuous brother, you probably gasp out my name."_

_Drogon snarled, and Ser Jorah's horse skittered backwards. "You disgust me," Dany spat at him. "You pathetic, lecherous old man. I am a queen. Why would I want you?"_

_"I don't know," Jorah spread his hands, his smile lewd. "But you do. Now come and have me."_

_Dany felt as though her body could not contain her rage. "I have been the khaleesi of the greatest khal ever to walk the earth, a man who was never defeated. I will be the wife of Viserys, dragonrider and king of Westeros. Why would I ever, ever, desire a broken old man?" she leant forward. "Let me make myself clear to you – I have never wanted you, I do not want you now, and I will never want you. So leave here now. Do not return to the camp. It was not your right even to search for me – you are not my bloodrider. Leave here, and if I never see you again, I will spare your miserable life, old bear."_

_Ser Jorah blinked as she ended her tirade. Then his face cleared and the lewd smirk returned. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."_

_Filled with a blinding, white-hot rage, Dany heard herself scream a command. "Dracarys!"_

_Drogon's mouth opened, and out of it poured a torrent of fire hotter even than Dany's fury. Dany watched Ser Jorah melt within the flames – it was too hot for him even to burn. He just melted, and then, just like that, Drogon closed his mouth and the fire and Ser Jorah were gone. Not even ashes remained, just a black blast mark upon the floor. Drogon made a satisfied sort of snort and turned away from the spot. Dany felt a little numb. It was over. Those months of fear that Mormont would do something that could not be laughed off, that he would attempt to take what she would not give, that she would be forced to kill him – all gone. He was dead and it was over. She felt lightheaded, and began to laugh. "He's gone, Drogon! He's dead!"_

_Drogon sniffed half-heartedly at the blackened ground, as though in hope that some horsemeat would remain, and sniffed in disgust when there was none. He looked skywards, and Dany took the hint. "Let's go home."_


	3. Chapter 3

_It was five or six hours later when she emerged from her bath, feeling cleaner after her day on sweaty, broiling dragonback. She was wearing fresh clothes and Jhiqui had rebraided her hair. Irri was away somewhere with Rakharo. Dany hoped they were enjoying themselves. Drogon, too, had finally left her. He had coiled himself around her tent and refused to move at first. She had gone to fetch Jhoqo and Aggo and stationed them on guard, to try and reassure him that she was safe, but it hadn't been enough. She had been forced to add Grey Worm and twelve of his Unsullied before Drogon would stand up and follow Rhaegal's calls. Viserion had still not returned when she went for her bath, but she had not worried. She was finally confident of her brother's love for her, and knew he could return. Besides, with Viserion to guard him, what could really go wrong?_

_She came now into the main part of her sumptuous tent, covered with furs and soft cushions, and she saw her brother's blonde head resting on a couch as he sprawled there, staring into space. Silent for a moment, she paused to contemplate him. He was dirty and travelstained after a day of flying, his pensive face thoughtful and troubled as he stared at nothing, his brow furrowed. His body was thrown carelessly onto the couch, but she guessed that he had not moved for some time. Her own face softened as she watched him. Her poor Viserys; how much he had suffered!_

_He noticed her then, and his face changed. It cleared, becoming calmer, happier, more open. He sat up and reached out his arms to her. "I'm sorry for this morning."_

_Dany went to him and curled up on his lap. This morning already felt like a lifetime ago. She felt the hard ball of tension that had been building in her stomach since he left her dissipate and she was calm as he folded her in his arms. "It's already forgiven." She didn't know how to tell him about Jorah. The knight had been valuable to their political efforts to win Westeros. He would have brought them the bear isles and the friendship of some highborn houses._

_"I know about Mormont," he said, reading her mind._

_"Are you angry?"_

_Wearily, he shook his head. "No. More glad."_

_"You don't look glad," Dany objected, stroking his face. "You look tired."_

_Viserys laughed without humour. "I am tired. Tired of this whole business. But I am glad you killed Mormont. You did, didn't you? Selmy said he didn't return."_

_"I killed him," Dany said candidly. "I was sick of him trying to – to take from me."_

_Leaning down to kiss the top of her head, Viserys smiled a cold smile. "Good. I hated the man. He presumed far too much. You're mine, Dany, mine."_

_Dany leant against him. "And you're mine."_

_"Body and soul," Viserys agreed. "The Seven can go fuck themselves, its only you I worship, sweet sister." He paused. "Selmy was a lot…politer to me just now, when I returned. You spoke with him, didn't you?"_

_Dany hesitated. "Yes."_

_"I hate it," Viserys turned his head away from her. "That's what made me angry this morning. Those dogs – they don't respect me. They only deign to tolerate me because I am your brother and Viserion's rider. If I weren't, none of them would follow me."_

_"I would follow you," Dany promised. "I love you, Viserys."_

_The earnestness of her voice forced Viserys to look at her. "I love you too. I would follow you to the ends of the earth, Dany, I swear it. When I look into your eyes – all of this doesn't seem to matter. Selmy, Mormont, the dothraki – even Westeros. It can all go hang. Perhaps – we should go away. Just you and me and the dragons. Make a new home for ourselves, far from all these power struggles and games."_

_"We cant," Dany said. "We're the rightful heirs. The Usurper –"_

_"Who gives a fuck for the usurper?" Viserys scoffed. "The bastard's dead now anyway. War is dangerous, Dany. If I were to lose you –"_

_He fell silent, and Dany smiled and kissed him gently. "Don't be afraid, Viserys," she smiled. "I'll protect you."_

_Viserys laughed, a rare moment of levity, and Dany beamed up at him, at the light in his eyes. "I'm afraid for you, dolt," he said. "This isn't a game we're playing. We'll win, or we'll die."_

_"So we'll win," Dany said easily. "Viserys, all this has happened for a reason. We were spared from the usurper, we ran and survived for all those years, we found the dragons, we both survived the flames. The gods have a plan, and whether we will it or no we're a part of that plan. We're being led somewhere – to Westeros, to Dragonstone, to King's Landing, to our inheritance. The people of Westeros need us. It's our duty to fight for our family's throne."_

_Viserys watched her, a sort of wondering disbelief on his face. "You really believe that, don't you?"_

_"Of course," Dany said. It seemed obvious to her. "Don't you?"_

_"I believe in you," Viserys said softly. "More than any god or any ideal, I believe in you, my sister. You gave me the will to survive, all those years. You gave me the strength to fight the flames. No gods, just you, you, you. You give me the willpower to conquer our kingdom. By the Father, if you want Westeros, my love, I'll give it to you on a golden platter!"_

_ Dany kissed him, then, and he took her in his arms and helped her to forget everything bad that had ever happened to her, everything but him._


	4. Chapter 4

_They covered ground fast in those months. With the dragons soaring overhead with the last Targaryens on their backs, morale soared too. The Unsullied, the freedmen and the new recruits marched on faster than ever, and more and more men flooded to the dragon banner. In addition to Dany's ten thousand Unsullied, there were fifteen thousand freedmen who had joined her in the slave cities, and about thirteen thousand who had joined her banners since she set off from Mereen. Amongst these were two minor khalasars that her column had absorbed; her army would have wiped them out for the food their horses offered, and most of the dothraki had been glad to join the 'dragon khaleesi' and fight for her anyway. Women were being trained alongside men, and although Ser Barristan was doubtful about it, it seemed to be working. The dothraki women revelled in it, and the few freedwoman who had come were strong and willing to fight already. Dany made sure moon tea was freely available everywhere and left her soldiers to get on with it. She didn't bother with moon tea herself – she was not in Westeros yet, however much she hoped that once she did she would fall pregnant with an heir for the iron throne. She had shared her fears about the prophecy with Viserys, and he was not judgemental or angry as she had feared. Instead, he had reprimanded her for not sharing it with him sooner, to lighten her load, and then entreated her not to worry about it. "We have come this far," he would say. "All will take care of itself in time, if we help it." And Dany was glad to 'help it'; she and Viserys enthusiastically 'helped it' every night in their tent. _

_The dragons were happy, too, Dany thought. Viserion grew closer to Viserys, and Viserys swore that the cream-and-gold understood everything that was said to him. Rhaegal, though restless and testier than the other two, soon grew used to being ridden by Dany for an hour or so every day. Drogon hated these hours and tailed Rhaegal constantly, snarling and grumbling fretfully until Dany landed Rhaegal and flew with him instead. She shared his discomfort, a little: she felt more at ease with her great black son, and was able to relax more with him. She thought guiltily that she probably loved him more than Viserion or Rhaegal. But she did ride Rhaegal every day, and vowed to continue doing so until she had a child who could ride Rhaegal instead. Dany was careful to uphold her bond with Viserion, too. He was her child as well, and though it was not often, she sometimes rode him as well. This made Drogon even more anxious, and his mood would make the other dragons testy as well. _

_"Dany!" Viserys called one morning, after camp had been broken and they were flying over the column. _

_Daenerys twisted in her seat to look for him. Her leatherworker had been able to construct three rudimentary saddles to sit between the first two spines on the dragons' necks, just behind their heads. These saddles had to be adjusted almost daily, because the dragons were still growing rapidly, but they were comfortable, and they allowed the legs to be strapped to the sides of the dragon's neck. This made evasive aerial manoeuvres like rolls and tilts possible. Viserys and Dany were in intensive training, trying to come up with as many scenarios as possible, and solutions to them all. Dany's favourite was the scenario in which the enemy would fire flaming arrows at them. To escape, Drogon would fly directly upwards, twisting as he went, only to arc, sending her upside down, before he plunged straight down to twist out of the dive and roar, flaming, directly over the enemy's heads, destroying them. Dany loved Drogon fiercely, with a passion she had thought she was incapable of feeling for anyone but Drogo or Viserys. She loved Viserys differently to the way that she had loved her sun-and-stars – Viserys was a passionate, desperate love, utterly natural, something she had no choice over and was deliciously caught up and lost in, while Drogo had been slow and sweet and surprising. But Drogon was different again. He was magnificent, stunning, something to worship and adulate, something to wonder at again and again. He had hidden depths, too. He loved her just as she loved him, and Dany knew that he was not just the war machine that some of her captains seemed to view him as, nor was he just an animal. Drogon was a person, with a personality more vibrant and forceful than many humans Dany had encountered. She ran her hand over his neck now, murmuring too him. "You're not Drogo, for all I named you for him. You're different, aren't you, shekh ma shieraki anni? He was never defeated, but you don't even know the possibility of defeat. He was savage and untamed, but you are the wild. Viserys is fiery, but you are fire. I wonder, if you could speak my language, would you call me jalan atthirari anni? I hope you would, sweeting." _

_She turned again to look for Viserys and then Viserion soared overhead, saluting Drogon with a red-hot burst of flame spilling from his jaws. Drogon roared in response, a great bellow that had deepened recently. Viserion tipped sideways, circling them, so that Viserys could see down to them._

_"We're nearing Pentos, Dany!" he called, his voice happy on the wind. He was always happy when airborne. He said it was because the sky contained everything he needed – his dragon, and crucially, Dany._

_"What say we go and find Magister Illyrio's manse and singe it a little?" Dany shouted back, knowing the idea would make her brother laugh._

_It did. "What an idea!" Viserys laughed in mock-anger. _

_Dany whispered a command to Drogon, who began to beat his wings faster, pulling ahead of Viserion. "Last one there is a wingless dragon!" she called over her shoulder._

_Viserys' response was lost in the wind, but Viserion too began to fly faster. Rhaegal, flying on Drogon's left flank, speeded up as well, and they soon left the column far behind. Soon, they could see Pentos up ahead. The glittering domes and spires which had rejected them for so long would be desperately appealing to Viserys for a burning, Dany knew._

_"Hold back!" she shouted across to him. "Don't set it all alight!"_

_"What about a little bit of it?" Viserys asked laughingly. _

_"We'll fly overhead," Dany decided. "Circle a bit, and then flame into the air! Let them know we've arrived! But only into the air, Viserys!"_

_The three dragons reached the vast city and circled lower, twisting over the centre. Screams and shouts drifted up to Dany on the wind as people saw them. She was reminded of all the people there must be in there – the children, the beggars, like she and Viserys had been. "Only into the air, remember?" she called again._

_"I'm not a fool, Dany!" Viserys hollered back. _

_They nodded to each other, and then both shouted at the top of their voices. "Dracarys!"_

_Instantly, all three dragons gaped wide their jaws, pouring three floods of fire before them as they circled, just high enough into the air for the buildings not to be set alight. Viserys laughed as the screams emanating from below intensified. Dany patted Drogon's red-veined neck. "Enough, shekh ma shieraki anni."_

_Drogon reluctantly closed his mouth, the gleaming ebony teeth slotting perfectly together. Rhaegal stopped flaming too, and Viserion, after expelling a last burst, closed his lips as well._

_"Come," Viserys said, his voice clear in the silence after the fire. "We'll go back to the column. They'll pitch camp and then no doubt these grovelling merchants will send us gifts and perfumed ambassadors, the way they do the horselords."_

_"We're worse than any khalasar," Dany replied. "We come on dragonback, not horseback."_

_Viserys laughed, and for once the sound had real pleasure, though little happiness in it. "We're their worst nightmare. One they won't wake up from, not ever. We'll teach them to defy the Targaryens."_

_The dragons turned their noses away from the shaking city, and returned to the army. Ser Barristan, as ever, was riding at the head of the column with Dany's handmaidens, bloodriders, Grey Worm and other commanders who had been elevated from the Unsullied or the freedmen, all capable, brave Targaryen loyalists._

_Dany unbuckled her legs from the straps on Drogon's neck and slipped to the ground, where Viserys was waiting. He caught her in his arms and kissed her, a little roughly, on the lips. "We have them where we want them," he said, a savage joy in his eyes. "Beggar king, beggar queen – hah! We'll show them, Dany. We'll teach the whores and bastards of this place who really rules this world!"_

_"Caution, my love," Dany smiled, though a part of her longed to raze Pentos and Magister Illyrio to the ground too. That would show the world that the Tagaryens, the dragonlords, were back. "We must think first."_

_"My queen," Ser Barristan greeted her, riding up. He bowed his head to Viserys as well. "My lord." Viserys had been determinedly polite and kind to all of the captains and everyone close to Dany, doggedly vowing to force them to change their minds about him. With Ser Barristan at least, this had wreaked results – the old knight responded to nothing so well as courtesy._

_"We will burn it to the ground, the whole accursed city!" Viserys spat, his face unnaturally white, his eyes burning, his hand a claw on Dany's arm. Dany had feared this, that this place, where he had been so far from what was truly him, would recall that dark side of his nature._

_"We will discuss it calmly and rationally," she said forcefully, making herself sound commanding. _

_"I'll not have you call me to heel like a dog!" Viserys snarled, jerking away from her._

_"Viserys," Dany said, her tone sad. "Please remember. If you're this angry, they control you. When they control you, they win."_

_Viserys put his hand to his face, running it through his shoulder-length silver hair. "Yes. Of course." He took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry." He reached for her again and bent his head to plant a contrite kiss on her shoulder. "Forgive me."_

_Dany smiled, proud of his ability to instantly control his anger. "Already forgotten, brother."_

_"Shall we adjourn to the tent?" Ser Barristan suggested. Dany nodded, and she and Viserys led the way. Viserion and Drogon settled down where they were, yawning and displaying their fangs. Rhaegal followed the humans, the ground shaking a little with each of her steps. The dragons seemed to have developed a sort of rota system recently, with two dragons remaining on the outskirts of camp, while only one followed the Targaryens, to curl around their tent and protect them. This meant that the council tent, and Dany and Viserys' personal tent always had to be pitched well away from the rest of the army, to allow a dragon to lie around it. _

_They went into the council tent, where servants who were still arranging cushions scurried hastily away. Dany stopped one, a young boy. "Thank you," she said softly to him, and he showed her a gap-toothed grin. Viserys took her hand. "I've never known anyone care so much," he said to Ser Barristan. "Isn't she perfect?"_

_Ser Barristan inclined his head. "Indeed she is, my lord."_

_Dany smiled. "Summon the council, please, Ser," she requested, as the warm weight of Rhaegal made the tent dark, pressing against all four walls. _

_"I say we burn it," Viserys said again, once Ser Barristan had left. "It would show all out enemies that we are to be feared. It would make those who have shunned us quake in their boots."_

_Dany shook her head. "We must be merciful."_

_"Would you have us show mercy to everyone?" Viserys objected. "We will fight no battles, win no throne. Just say 'oh, we shall be merciful. Go home, everyone.'"_

_"Prudence and tactics win as many battles as fire, Viserys," Dany said. "The skill is not in burning, but in knowing when not to burn."_

_"Now is the time to burn," Viserys said, his face stony._

_"No," Dany said flatly. "Not all of it. We wont kill them all."_

_"You wish to kill some?" Viserys asked, his face brightening. "Why, sweet sister, I never thought to see you bloodthirsty!"_

_"I want to kill those who have truly wronged us," Dany said. "The Usurper, the Lannisters, the Baratheons."_

_"The Starks?" Viserys suggested._

_"Perhaps," Dany said. "But not these fat merchants. Besides, we can get more from them than their deaths. These people – Illyrio's people – are richer than the rest of the world combined."_

_Viserys' face broke into a smile. "You brilliant girl!" he laughed. "You wicked, brilliant girl! You want their gold!"_

_"Exactly," Dany smiled. "We threaten to burn, and then take their peace offerings. They all know what we did to slavers bay."_

_"Can I at least kill Illyrio?" Viserys asked, suddenly frowning again. "He – the bastard." He fell silent and clenched his fists._

_"What is it, my love?" Dany said, her voice soft. _

_"On your wedding night, I tried to come to you," Viserys said quietly. "I wanted to talk to you, to explain – that to win you our birthright, I had to – to give you away. I wanted you to understand. I wanted….I wanted your maidenhead, I will not lie to you. We were always meant to have each other, no one else. Before I gave you to a savage, I wanted to show you that I loved you, really loved you. But Illyrio posted guards at your door. He kept me from you."_

_Dany stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the lips. "Never again."_

_Viserys put his hands on her waist, gripping hard. "No. No one will ever part us again. I will kill them before they take you from me."_

_"I will kill them," Dany promised him. "I will kill a thousand men before I leave you."_

_"My Queen, Lord Viserys," Ser Barristan spoke, lifting the tent flap and climbing awkwardly over Rhaegal's tail. _

_Dany smiled at her brother, who smiled back. She was glad that he was learning patience. That was all that was needed with Ser Barristan._

_The other council members followed Ser Barristan into the tent. "My Queen," one of the captains said suddenly. "We must not burn Pentos! We need their alliance."_

_"We need no one's alliance," Viserys corrected him. "But no, we will not set Pentos afire. We will threaten them, and take their gold. After all, a dragon needs a hoard, does it not? We shall get ours a king's ransom! Pentos shall pay with its lifeblood. And then, when the next khalasar comes looking for gifts, and finds none, Pentos will be destroyed – but not by our hand. No, we shall have been _merciful_."_

_Ser Barristan looked at Dany for confirmation, and Dany inclined her head. "We have spoken." _

_Ser Barristan smiled to himself, and Dany guessed that he had heard a little of their conversation._

_"Arrange the troops! Our whole army, all our forces!" Viserys was saying now, his eyes bright again. "Draw them up! We shall fly overhead, and Pentos shall come to grovel at our feet!"_

_The captains nodded and bowed and dashed out again, falling over each other and Rhaegal in their haste. Trumpets began to sound. Viserys turned to Dany, his smile wide. "We will make them crawl in the dirt before us, Dany. Illyrio will shit himself before I gut him like the whale he is. He will learn what it is to defy the dragon!"_

_Part of Dany sang in agreement – yes, yes, this is right, we must kill all who have hurt us! – but she shook her head. "Be calm, Viserys. We must always keep our heads."_

_Viserys laughed too loudly. "Yes, heaven forbid we be executed! Us! Oh, sister, we have done it; Dany, we have won! We have dragons! We will rule them all!"_

_"Be _calm_, Viserys," Dany insisted, speaking to herself as much as her brother. "Anger and bloodlust conquered our father and turned him mad, but it will not conquer us."_

_That checked him. "Yes. Yes of course." He shook his head as though to clear it. "It runs in our blood – madness, as well as fire. Sometimes – I think I walk too close to the precipice. If it weren't for you – I don't know where I would be now. Dead with my head on a spike, most probably." _

_"Enough, now," Dany shivered. "I don't like to think of myself without you. It is a dark thought – like being without Drogon would be; without a part of myself."_

_"Come!" Viserys seized her hand and pulled her to the door. "Let us go, let us fly!" he brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled, a loud, piercing noise. "I have taught Viserion to come when I whistle," he explained._

_Dany laughed. "That's nothing. Listen." She cupped her hands to her mouth. "Drogon! Come, my love! Drogon!"_

_A roar sounded from the other side of the camp and the sun was blocked out as Drogon and Viserion rose. "Up, Rhaegal," Dany commanded her green dragon, who was watching them closely with a bright copper eye. "Fly away now, sweeting."_

_Rhaegal flared her wings and clambered to her feet before launching herself into the air as Drogon and Viserion landed on either side of the tent. Viserys pulled Dany too him for a fierce, loving moment, and kissed her on the mouth. "Fly well, sweet sister," he whispered, and then she laughed and darted away to Drogon, feeling like a child again. Drogon dipped his head as she approached, rumbling in greeting. Dany scrambled up his head, using his cheek spines as a ladder, and settled herself behind his crest. He raised his head as she tightened the straps of the saddle around her legs and hurriedly bound her hair into a dothraki-style braid. It would not do to have it flying in her face today. Viserion took off, his wings making loud claps in the air, and Drogon shifted, impatient to be off. Dany smiled. "Come then, shekh ma shieraki anni," she said. "Fly."_

_Drogon exploded upwards into the air, the force of his leap carrying him past Viserion. He caught himself with his wings and began to climb, circling rapidly upwards. Dany sensed his fierce urge to kill, and stroked his neck. "Be calm, sweeting. You are like Viserys. Too impatient." _

_Drogon hissed, and Dany leaned forward to touch her forehead to one of his spines. "I know. You are not like him. You are like me. Bloodthirsty." She pulled in a deep breath. "But revenge is not what we seek now – apart from for Illyrio. He will die. But no others; no innocent blood will soil your claws, love. You are pure, my fiery one, pure as light."_

_She looked down at Viserion, following below them. Rhaegal screamed from above and let off a jet of flame, and Dany called up to her. "Rhaegal! With me!" _

_Rhaegal dropped to soar beside Drogon, slightly behind him, and Viserion rose to the other side as Drogon turned his nose to Pentos. _

_"This is it!" Viserys shouted, his words twisted on the wind. "This is all we have waited for!"_

_"No!" Dany called back. "This – this is only the beginning!"_

_Drogon roared as she spoke, almost drowning her words. Below, the bronze spiked caps of the Unsullied gleamed, their perfect rectangular regiments lined up, the mass of freedmen behind them, in more jumbled formations. The army roared back, their wordless cry reaching the Targaryens as they soared towards the city of their enemies._


	5. Chapter 5

_"We are at your eminences' service, O mighty monarchs," the fat merchant said, his brow gleaming damply with sweat as he sat opposite Dany and Viserys in the hastily erected tent halfway between Pentos and the Tagaryen camp. "We wish only to please you."_

_Dany and Viserys exchanged a look. The man was pathetic: a craven. "We want all the dragon eggs in your city," Viserys said suddenly. "Every one you cringing dogs possess."_

_The merchant nodded anxiously. "Of course, great King."_

_"And gold," Viserys added. "As much gold as you have."_

_The merchant mopped his brow, looking pale. Viserion hissed outside the tent, and the merchant nodded hastily. "Yes, yes, your grace."_

_"We want all your soldiers turned out of the city," Dany interjected. "Our men will enter, to search your houses and take your possessions, and not one hand will be raised against them – or Pentos will burn. No one will leave the city – or Pentos will burn. All our demands will be met, do you understand? If you want to live, that is."_

_"I understand!" the man babbled. "Of course, of course!"_

_"Ships," Viserys said. "Enough ships to take our army to Westeros."_

_"And Magister Illyrio," Dany added. "Give him over to us."_

_The man blanched. "But the magister –" he saw Viserys' expression and stopped hastily. _

_"I think Viserion is hungry, sister," Viserys said idly, looking at his nails. "Shall we feed him?"_

_"Oh, but Rhaegal and Drogon are hungry too," Dany said conversationally. "We'll have to cut him into three before they eat him."_

_"What a good thing he is so fat," Viserys answered. "Eating a third of him will be like eating a whole man!"_

_"Tender meat is Drogon's favourite," Dany remarked. "I think he is in luck today, don't you, Viserys? I'd wager that this man has never done a day's work in his life."_

_"Please, please!" the merchant gibbered. "Your highnesses, your graces, your eminences, your lordship, your ladyship! Pity a simple tradesman! I will see that your demands are met, every one! Only let me live to carry them back to the city! Dragon eggs, gold, ships, Illyrio, you shall have them all! Only let me live!"_

_Dany wrinkled her nose. "He's pissed himself."_

_Viserys laughed. "And shat himself too, most likely."_

_"Come, good friend," Dany stood, offering the merchant her arm. "You shall live. Let us take you back to your escort."_

_The man rose on shaking legs, babbling thanks and praises. Dany and Viserys led the stinking, quivering man back to his large escort of slaves and soldiers. _

_Viserys frowned. "I hadn't realised you brought so many soldiers, my friend. Why, anyone would think that you don't trust us."_

_"No, no, your merciful worship," the man begged. "You are trustworthy, I trust you with my life! I – the soldiers are – are but –"_

_"How many men does it take to deliver a message?" Dany asked, sensing where Viserys was going with this._

_Viserys smiled. "One."_

_Dany looked up at Drogon and gestured to the soldiers. "You may eat them, my darling one."_

_Drogon bared his teeth and bathed the soldiers in a warm flame, not the burning inferno that he had used to kill Ser Jorah. They screamed and tried to run as they and their mounts were set alight, but Drogon kept on breathing on them until they were just black, charred lumps of flesh. He delicately bent his head and began to crunch on the corpses as the Pentoshi ambassador threw up noisily onto Viserys' shoes. Viserys snarled in anger and dealt the man a backhand blow across the face. "Dog!"_

_Viserion, attracted by the smell of charred flesh, reared his neck over the tent, and hissed when he saw Viserys kicking the merchant. "I should feed you to my dragon!" Viserys spat, but stopped himself and took a shaky breath. "But I am merciful. By the grace of my bountiful sister, you live, Pentoshi whore-son. Go, deliver your message and your stinking piss."_

_The merchant began to run, fleeing on foot as Drogon consumed his horse. Viserion sniffed interestedly at Drogon's meal, but Drogon snarled and drove him away._

_Viserys put his arm around Dany's shoulders and kissed her cheek. "It begins."_

_Dany watched the pentoshi stumble, fall, and run again, back to the walls of Pentos. "I hope we are doing the right thing. People will starve if we take Pentos' gold."_

_Viserys shrugged. "We have starved, we have lived in poverty. No more. We will pay the price in the blood of strangers, sister. Our kingdom awaits us."_

_That night, Illyrio was marched out of the city by a group of Dany's unsullied, led by Grey Worm. The other Unsullied were busy ransacking Pentos, searching every manse for gold and eggs and treasure for the Targaryens. Dany hoped that they might find her mother's crown, somewhere._

_Viserys rose from his seat against Viserion's neck when he saw Grey Worm approaching. Dany looked up from where she was rubbing oil into the soft hide of Drogon's nose._

_"Viserys, my lord!" Illyrio tried to sound bright, but there was blood on his robes._

_"Hello, old friend," Viserys said, stalking towards the fat man, his tone more of a growl than words._

_"I always knew you would achieve your throne," Illyrio said. "I always tried to help you on your noble quest – all those years. And I gave Daenerys – your lovely sister – the eggs which I now see are…are these huge, noble beasts."_

_He gestured to Drogon and Viserion, who snarled at him, covering him with a blast of air that smelled like rotting flesh._

_"Don't remind me of what we owe you," Viserys snapped. "It only makes me more inclined to kill you."_

_"I- I am your friend, Viserys, sweet prince Viserys," Illyrio said nervously. "As I have always been."_

_"Dog!" Viserys snarled. "Lying dog!"_

_Dany slid off Drogon's nose and took the arakh that Rakharo offered her. "Thank you, blood of my blood."_

_"And I – I arranged your marriage, sweet princess – great queen!" Illyrio turned to her. "You loved your khal, did you not?"_

_Viserys slapped him. "Do not speak of that!"_

_"I loved Drogo," Dany said, laying a hand on her brother's arm. "But that is not what you are here for. You kept Viserys from me. He would have told me he loved me, all that time ago – and you kept him from me. All those years you manipulated him, you fed his anger – you made him burn in the flames of humiliation and debt every day."_

_She tossed the arakh from hand to hand, knowing she was being cruel, knowing that she was going to kill this man, knowing, beyond a doubt, that she was the daughter of the Mad King._

_"You deserve a far slower death than the one we will give you," Viserys said. "But Daenerys is merciful."_

_"No, I am not," Dany said, hating herself for a moment. "I hate Illyrio. Kill him."_

_Viserys turned to Illyrio. "Even Dany has lost her compassion for you, worm, son of whores and eunuchs. So, you shall die. But how, old friend? By fire?" He gestured to Viserion. "Or by the blade?" he pointed to Dany's arakh. "Or by my hands?" he closed them around Illyrio's throat and squeezed. The merchant raised his hands to Viserys' wrists and pulled at them with surprising strength, but Viserys just laughed. "I'm no longer a boy!" he said, shaking Illyrio. _

_Dany blinked. Viserys was right. He was a man now. Taller, broader in the shoulders, though he was still thin and gaunt. He no longer looked gangly, like a colt with hooves too large for its stick-thin legs. He was a stallion, smooth skin stretched tight over muscles. _

_"Here, my love," she said softly, holding the arakh out to him, handle first. He let go of Illyrio, surprised to hear the endearment on her lips._

_He walked towards her, his violet eyes soft and gentle as he stretched out a hand towards her. over his shoulder, Dany met Illyrio's dark black eyes as he reached inside his robe, fast as a snake, and threw – _

_"No!" Dany heard herself scream, saw herself, as though from a distance, push Viserys roughly out of the way, saw his shocked face, felt the ground shake as Drogon bellowed and poured out a torrent of fire onto Illyrio, until he was gone, gone, gone. Finally, Dany looked down, numb, and saw the handle of Illyrio's knife protruding from her own breast. _

_"Dany, Dany, Dany!" Viserys sobbed as she fell. He caught her, his arms curling over and around her as she slowly raised her hand to the knife and touched it, disbelieving. Behind Viserys' head, the dragons were screaming and blasting flames into the air, beating the ground with their wings in a frenzy of rage and fear. Men were shouting and horses were neighing and fleeing all around them. Dany saw it all through a sort of fog. Everything seemed far away, even Drogon turning on a few Unsullied who tried to approach them, eating them whole, even Rhaegal and Viserion taking wing and flying, flaming, towards the red, flickering city in the distance. She felt Viserys' tears falling onto her face, and looked up at him. "Don't leave me," he was begging. "You swore you wouldn't. Daenerys, my sister, don't leave me."_

_"I wont," she tried to say, but though she moved her lips, no sound came out. Then she was falling again, faster and farther than when she had fallen from Rhaegal's back, only this time Drogon couldn't catch her…._


	6. Chapter 6

_She awoke slowly, as though climbing out of a deep, black lake. It took her a few moments to remember where she was and what had happened, but it came back. She gasped, and grabbed at her chest, and the stabbing pain that greeted her touch made her feel more alive. She opened her eyes, looking down at the clean white bandage on her chest, the familiar walls of her tent around her. But the smell of burning was on the air, and Viserys was not by her side._

_"Viserys?" she called, sounding small and scared. _

_"Blood of my blood!" a voice answered immediately, the rough, familiar sound of the dothraki words soothing. She turned to see Aggo clambering out of a chair towards her. He knelt at her side and took her hand. "Khaleesi, I knew you would live!"_

_"Where is my brother?" Dany asked, struggling with the words, her chest aching with every syllable. "Where is Viserys?"_

_Aggo frowned. "He ran almost mad when you would not wake up. He waited by your side for three days, and had the Unsullied continue getting the gold and wealth out of Pentos. He took all the fat merchantmen prisoner, all the richest of them. On the third day that you didn't wake, he began killing them. Now one is killed every hour, and he kills them himself, with Rakharo's arakh that you gave him. He is there now."_

_Dany felt icy cold. Viserys relied on her for sanity, for reason – was his gone now?_

_"And the dragons?" she asked, forcing herself to sound calm. "What of my children?"_

_"The white and the green burned half of the city before your brother left you to call them off. He only did that so that he could have them burn the people he had taken prisoner."_

_"And Drogon?" As Dany said her beloved son's name, the walls of the tent shook with a slow breath. "Drogon?" she called again, and a low growl answered her. _

_"He is coiled around the tent, blood of my blood," Aggo explained. "He has not left your side, not even once to feed. At first, he burned anyone who tried to approach you. But when Jhogo and I tried, he let us come, though your brother almost killed us. We had to wrestle him to the ground before he would let the healers through."_

_"Take me to the door," Dany said, forcing her legs towards the edge of her bed._

_Aggo looked concerned. "Khaleesi, is that wise? You are maimed."_

_"A khal who cannot ride is no khal," Dany snapped. "It is known. So I can walk, or I am no khaleesi."_

_Aggo shouted, and a servant appeared. "Fetch Rakharo and Jhogo, slave," he growled. "Tell them the Khaleesi wakes."_

_"And food," Dany said faintly. "Have someone bring me food."_

_The servant vanished again, and Drogon growled again. Dany heard him shift, and the door of the tent blew in and out with his breath as he placed his head there. _

_"I'm coming, sweet one," she called softly in the common tongue, as Aggo came and supported her. He half-carried her towards the door, when she pulled away from him and pushed through, collapsing painfully against Drogon's snout. Drogon hissed anxiously, making a rattling noise in the back of his throat that Dany had always thought of as him trying to croon. "I love you too," she whispered. "Help me up, Drogon. I can't – I can't do it, but I must ride. I have to get to Viserys."_

_Drogon rattled his throat again and slowly drew his nose backwards, forcing Dany to stumble after him, leaning all of her weight on him. He brought his tail round and carefully keeping the spiked tip of it away from her, he used the thinnest part to lift Dany up onto his muzzle. She crouched their awkwardly, facing his baleful red eyes, her chest aching unbearably. "Thank – thank you," she gasped. "T-take me to Viserys, Drogon my darling, my beautiful son. Viserys."_

_"Be careful, khaleesi!" Aggo called up, and then shouted for his horse. Drogon reared his head into the air, his eyes on Dany to make sure she did not slip or fall. Then he rose and began a slow, careful, ungainly walk around the outskirts of the camp. Dany heard Rhaegal shriek in greeting, but did not move her eyes from Drogon's, knowing she would fall if she did._

_She heard shouts and screams soon and turned slowly so that she was facing forwards. Huge piles of bodies were heaped on the outskirts of camp. Rhaegal lay idly sprawled over one, spearing corpses with the tip of her tail, flicking them into the air and roasting them there, then snapping them into her mouth. Flies crawled everywhere, and the smell made Dany gag. Out on the plain between Pentos and the camp, huge groups of prisoners milled about, walled in by Unsullied. Viserion was crouched near the smallest group, his neck arched over Viserys' small figure as he wielded a flashing arakh, heads rolling in the dust at his feet._

_"Next!" he screamed as Dany drew closer. A merchant, richly dressed in cloth-of-gold was thrown into the dirt at his feet. Viserys loomed over him, his hair unkempt and matted with dried blood, his face dirty and tearstained, his eyes wild. "Why isn't she waking, Pentoshi?" he howled at the man. "Did the bastard use poison? Did he? Answer me!" He slashed at the merchant's shoulder, laying the man's arm open to the bone. When the man only shook and pleaded, Viserys wailed with a mixture of fury and despair and beheaded him. "Next!" he shouted again._

_"Viserys," Dany called, though she didn't know how she found the strength to speak._

_Her brother swung to face her, his face twisted in a mask of fury, his eyes a fiery purple in his bloodless, skull-like visage. "She is dead! Who _dares_ to speak to me in her voice? Viserion will burn you, burn you!"_

_Drogon lowered his head and Dany slid to the ground gracelessly, nearly falling. "Its me, I'm alive," she said quietly, swaying on her feet. _

_Viserys' expression changed, from fury to hope to fury once more. "You lie!" he spat, but his voice shook. _

_"Viserys, please," Dany took a faltering step forward. "Stop this madness."_

_Her brother reared away from her. "Madness! Madness! My father was mad, his father was mad! I am mad, now she is gone! Everywhere I turn I long to see her, to be haunted by her – I look for her in everything! But she is not here, _she is not here_! Fire and blood, fire and blood, all that remains! She is gone, but I will burn the world for her! The world will bleed for her!"_

_Dany stumbled and fell to her knees. "Viserys."_

_Drogon snarled and Viserion snapped his teeth together, his wings flaring. Drogon reared to his hind legs and roared, a sound that had all the Pentoshi prostrate on the ground in terror. _

_Viserys lurched towards Dany. "Is it – Daenerys, is it you?"_

_Dany nodded, too weak to raise her head. Viserys ran the last few steps and threw himself to his knees, dragging her painfully into his arms. "Dany! Oh gods, oh gods, sister, Dany, my queen, my love! I thought you were gone, I thought you were dead, I thought I was dead, I thought I would die, Dany, Daenerys, sister! You came back to me, you came back!"_

_"Of course I did," Dany said faintly. "Don't be a fool. Be…be calm, Viserys."_

_Viserys held her tighter to him, kissing her face, her lips, her eyes, her hair. "You came back, oh Dany, thank you, thank you, thank you!"_

_"You killed…all these people?" Dany whispered, feeling black crowding at the edges of her vision. "You promised to be…merciful…Viserys…"_

_"Water!" Viserys shouted, taking her weight. "Get water! Fetch me the healers! Move, dogs!"_

_"I love you," Dany said, drawing strength from his eyes, fixed so desperately on her. "I won't faint."_

_"I'm sorry," Viserys whispered brokenly, his eyes drinking her in, clutching her to him like a drowning man clutching at a rope thrown to him. "I didn't mean to kill them, but when you wouldn't wake, I thought you were going to die – gods, Dany, how could I exist without you? How could the world exist without you?" Tears crowded suddenly in his eyes and spilled unbidden over his cheeks, carving new tracks of clean pale skin through the grime on his face._

_"You would have burned the world if I died?" Dany knew she should be repelled, but she only felt tenderer towards Viserys._

_"Of course," Viserys looked shocked that she had to ask. "If you die – how can the world continue to exist? What right has it to exist?" He swallowed painfully. "But – you idiot girl! What were you thinking? Why would you step in front of a knife meant for me?"_

_"For the same reason you burned Pentos," Dany said. "I love you…even though…you're a fool…a mad fool…"_

_Viserys' sobered, looked sadder. "I am, aren't I? If you're not with me – I just seem…to lose my reason…if I don't have you beside me, part of me, the good part, just – goes."_

_"I might not always be here…" Dany sighed. "You have to learn to keep that good part without me."_

_Viserys tightened his hold on her. "Liar. You will always be here. I won't let you die."_


	7. Chapter 7

_Dany drifted in and out of consciousness for days, weeks, perhaps months. She didn't know. Always, when she woke, Viserys would be there, wiping her brow with a cool damp cloth or talking quietly. "We're rich now, rich enough to cross the seas with all our armies."_

_"The soldiers are talking. They say that there's a Targaryen pretender crossing the Narrow Sea with the Golden Legion. He says he's Aegon. What if he is? We wouldn't be the rightful rulers, then. But don't you worry about that, Dany. He can't be Aegon, our nephew is dead."_

_"We have seven more dragon eggs Dany. From the ruins of Pentos. One of them could hatch, perhaps more. But I don't think they will, and perhaps we shouldn't try to hatch them, not yet, not until we have children. Even Rhaegal doesn't have a rider yet."_

_He would tell her of the dragons, of the Unsullied and the freedmen, of how they were on the march to the Narrow Sea. He reassured her that Viserion flew alone, or with Rhaegal: he never left her side, not once. "I'm going to _make_ you get better," he said once. "You'll heal."_

_One day she awoke to blue skies overhead, a gentle rocking motion beneath her. "Viserys?" she croaked._

_Instantly, he was there, bending over her. "You're awake!" he reached for a glass of clear, pure water. "Here, drink. I had them bring barrels of pure springwater onto the ship for you. It'll make you strong again."_

_"Where are we?" she asked, obediently drinking. _

_"The deck of one of our ships. I thought the air would do you good." He smiled at her bewilderment. "We're crossing, Dany. We're leading our army across the Narrow Sea to Dorne. Prince Doran sent his son, Quentyn, as an ambassador. He's a bit of a lackwit, but it's a good gesture on the part of Dorne. But Dany, we've done it, we've truly done it! We're going home."_

_"Help me up," Dany said. "I want to see."_

_Viserys gently helped her to her feet, and guided her to the rail of the deck. Dany looked out at the wide blue-grey ocean. "Where are the ships?"_

_Viserys pointed. "Look behind."_

_Dany turned, and gasped. Fanning out behind them, as far as the eye could see, were warships, flagships, galleons, every kind of ship._

_Viserys smiled. "We've gained even more followers. People are flocking to our banners. They think we herald a coming better age, when the dragonlords rule once more."_

_"Where are they?" Dany asked, just as the ship lurched, sending her flying. Viserys caught her and cradled her against his chest, laughing. Dany looked out at the still ocean. "What was that?"_

_"Watch," he pointed out to the sea again, as a fountain of steam erupted and Viserion exploded upwards out of the water, beating hard into the air over the ship, sending seawater down to drench the sailors, who cursed good-naturedly at the dragon. Dany gasped. "They swim?"_

_"Yes," Viserys said. "Look. There's Rhaegal."_

_Dany look, and saw Rhaegal swimming powerfully through the water, her pointed head splitting it like a knife, her wings and legs propelling her forcefully forwards through the water. Dany smiled for joy. "And Drogon?"_

_Another burst of seawater drenched them then, as Drogon's long, graceful neck reared out of the water, arcing over the ship as he looked down at Dany, who stretched out a hand to him. "You have grown, my sun-and-stars."_

_Drogon made his rattling noise and carefully pushed the very tip of his nose against Dany's extended hand._

_She breathed deeply and looked around them. "Viserys…we…we've done it."_

_He kissed her on the mouth. "I know. Together, together we did it. We'll sit the iron throne, you and I, and Westeros will be safe again."_

_"And – you did all this," Dany smiled wonderingly. "You bought us here."_

_Viserys laughed. "In truth, Ser Barristan did most of it. Organised the ships and the boarding. I haven't left your side. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't even breathe when I was away from you. I just – I couldn't leave you. So little and defenceless." He smiled again. "But its over now. You're awake. And everything is good again."_

_Drogon dipped his head to her, dropping his eye to her level. Dany smiled. "He wants me to fly with him."_

_Viserys frowned. "You only just woke. You've been fever-dreaming for two weeks. Are you sure you're strong enough?"_

_"I am a Targaryen," Dany said proudly, tossing her head. "I shall find the strength."_

_"Very well," Viserys laughed. "But for today, I ride behind you."_

_"Very well," Dany mimicked him. "It is agreed."_

_He helped her to mount, and then climbed on behind her. Drogon hissed a little at this and lashed the water with his tail, but calmed when Dany spoke to him._

_"Have him fly level," Viserys warned. "He's wearing no saddle."_

_Dany laughed aloud. "Are you afraid?"_

_Her brother's denial was lost in Drogon's roar as he propelled himself upwards out of the sea, into the sky. Viserion and Rhaegal roared back and hastened after him, settling into their usual flight formation, with Drogon leading and they flanking him. Drogon swooped low over the ships, and the crews cheered to see Dany and Viserys a-dragonback once more, hale and whole._


	8. Chapter 8

_Days passed, and Dany flew alone again, skimming over the waves, low enough so they splashed her. Drogon loved the water, smacking it with his tail to see it turn to steam. He and Rhaegal became playful in a way they had never been before, tumbling over and around one another as they fell with resounding splashes into the ocean. They would swim underwater as far and fast as they were able, to burst out into the sunlight, glittering and shedding sea-spray like stardust._

_One day Dany was flying, high above Viserion and Rhaegal, with Drogon casually looping back on himself and flying upside down from time to time, when Dany spotted a ship, a queer dark ship, not one of hers. She tapped Drogon urgently. "Level out. Fly lower."_

_Drogon did as she asked, and swooped closer to the ship. It was flying the kraken of house Greyjoy. Dany frowned. "No Greyjoy would be so far from the iron isles, surely?"_

_A trumpet sounded, and Drogon swung back towards the flagship, where Viserys was just alighting. "That's a greyjoy ship," he called as Dany landed on the deck, jumping off Drogon's reared neck._

_"What is it doing here?" Dany asked Ser Barristan._

_"I don't know, my queen," the knight said warily, rubbing his stubbly jaw. "But nothing good, I would wager. Look."_

_Dany looked towards the now-distant ship, where a group of men were struggling to lift something: a large object covered by a black cloth. One of them tore off the cloth, and Viserys swore softly. It was a large black horn that twisted and curled, with glowing Valyrian glyphs etched onto it. The dragons bugled as they saw it, calling to one another. Drogon lifted out of the water and flew quickly towards the ship. Dany looked at Viserys, concerned. "Where is he going? Ser Barristan, what is that thing?"_

_Ser Barristan could only spread his hands in bewilderment, as Drogon dove, his jaws gaping, towards the ship. Fire licked from his mouth and took hold of the ship, setting it alight within moments. Viserion tipped back his head and shot flame into the air too, and Rhaegal rose from the water and went to join Drogon in setting the ship aflame. Ser Barristan gasped in shock. "My queen – the dragons! They are killing innocent men! They must be stopped!"_

_Viserys shook his head. "No. That thing had high valyrian glyphs on it, and whatever those sailors were trying to do with it, it wasn't good, I'd wager."_

_"Yes," Dany agreed. "I've never seen them act that way before, conferring and then immdiatley burning something – not when there's no immediate danger to us or to them. That horn must have been a danger."_

_"But – the Greyjoys–!" Selmy spluttered._

_Dany rested a hand on his arm. "We can only trust the dragons, Ser. They must have some instinctive knowledge of this thing – that its harmful. We should just be glad that it is gone."_

_Ser Barristan gasped again, and Dany turned back to see Rhaegal pluck a screaming, burning man from the deck and soar up into the air with him. Viserion hissed and swam quickly towards the burning, sinking ship, and dove underwater as he neared it. Members of the crew were beginning to jump overboard, but one by one, they were grabbed from below and vanished. Viserys laughed. "Its Viserion. He's taking them from beneath, like a shark."_

_Dany could not bring herself to smile, though some part of her knew that her children had been right to burn this ship. Its black sails would not have boded anything but ill for the Targaryens._


	9. Chapter 9

_"We near Westeros," Ser Barristan said, pointing to the map spread out on the table before him, the Seven Kingdoms painted in vivid colour before them – the white north, the green reach, orange-brown Dorne, with Kings Landing marked by a tiny painting of the Red Keep. Dany could see Dragonstone, too, a little grey rock jutting out of a styilized blue ocean. Her birthplace._

_She looked up at Viserys, who was hunched over beside her, ducking his head to avoid hitting it on the low ceiling of the cabin. They shared an excited smile. They were almost home!_

_"Where will we land?" Dany asked the room in general._

_"Dorne, your grace," Ser Barristan said instantly. "The Martells have always been your staunchest supporters."_

_"And what of this Aegon pretender?" Viserys pointed out. "Will he not make for Dorne too?"_

_"With all due respect, my lord, his lineage is in doubt," Ser Barristan smiled. "Aegon is believed dead by most. Besides, he has not the dragons."_

_"If not Dorne, then where, brother?" Dany asked._

_"Why not make straight for Kings Landing?" Viserys jabbed the tiny Red Keep with his finger. "We have no need to beg for soldiers from Doran Martell – what is he anyway? Naught but some cripple, barely a prince at all."_

_"Someone who sent his son to us," Dany said. "To welcome us when no other would."_

_"You know that fool Quentyn was sent out here to woo you?" Viserys snapped. "He told me so himself. Wanted me to put in a good word for him to you – can you imagine?"_

_Dany giggled. The thought of that dour little prince as her husband – when instead she had Viserys, her glorious king – it was laughable. "What did you say?"_

_"I soon set him straight," Viserys smiled thinly. _

_Ser Barristan coughed. "If I had not interjected, his grace would have run Prince Quentyn through with a sword."_

_Viserys frowned, but his eyes sparked with laughter. "Hush. You will make Dany think the less of me."_

_Daenerys slipped an arm around her brother's waist. "Never."_

_"Very well then, not Dorne," Ser Barristan said, returning his attention to the map. "We could take Kings Landing, I suppose. We have the men for it."_

_"Men?" Viserys scoffed. "We have dragons, greybeard!"_

_Barristan smiled at the jibe, knowing that Viserys did not mean to offend. "True, your grace."_

_Dany still liked to hear that. Selmy had begun to address Viserys as 'king' only recently, and her bloodriders had followed suit and dubbed him 'khal' – when their seasickness allowed them to leave their bunks, that is. All of Dany's khalasar were suffering on this voyage over the 'poison water', and their superstitious terror of the ocean would have been laughable if it weren't so pitiable._

_"But should we deal with this usurper Aegon first?" Viserys turned to Dany, as he always did._

_"He may not be a usurper," Dany reminded him. "He could be Rhaegar's son." She was mindful of the riderless Rhaegal – perhaps this was what the gods had intended by giving her three dragons. "They do say that Jon Connington rides with him. Wasn't he one of our brother's closest friends?"_

_"Yes," Viserys nodded. "Since childhood."_

_"Do you remember him?" Dany asked, curious. Viserys had known this land, known this people who were still only names and sigils to her._

_"Yes," Viserys said again. "He and Rhaegar were always laughing, always merry together. When Rhaegar was sad it was always Jon that could lift his mood."_

_"Was Rhaegar often sad?" _

_"Oh, often. He'd leave us and not come to our rooms for days at a time. It would always make mother very worried. You could always hear his harp though – the saddest melodies you ever heard."_

_"Your memories of it are so vivid," Dany said, a little jealous. She had never known their family._

_"Not really," Viserys shook his head, strands of silver-blonde hair hanging forward over his face. "I was only a child. Besides, there is nothing really worth remembering from those years – my life hadn't yet begun, truly."_

_"Oh?" Dany cocked her head, a smile already playing at the edges of her lips._

_"Of course not," Viserys grabbed her playfully by the hips and pulled her roughly against him. "You were not born then, were you?"_

_Dany smiled, utterly content as she rested her head against the smooth silk of his shirt._

_"So – to Dorne or Kings Landing, my love?" he asked her, his voice soft and sweet. "Or Dragonstone, if you will?"_

_"To Dorne," Dany said decisively. "Let us meet Aegon, if it is him. And let the Usurper get word of our coming – let the fear build in him a while."_

_"Oh?" Viserys laughed. "You wicked girl, tormenting an old man so!"_

_"More fear means more chance of surrender," Dany explained. "And less bloodshed. I don't want to burn our ancestors city, do you?"_

_"Of course not," Viserys reassured her. "To Dorne, then. To meet our nephew."_

_"He will be almost our age, wont he?" Dany asked, allowing hope to build inside her, that this Aegon could be real – that through him, she might begin to know a brother who died before she was born._

_"Remember, if it were truly our nephew, he would have come to us years ago," Viserys cautioned. "Or if it is him, why is he trying to launch a rival claim to our throne? It does not bode well for his amicability toward us, sister."_

_"But we can meet him, and decide, cant we?" Dany smiled. "And he could be a trueborn Targaryen, like us."_

_"A halfblood," Viserys said jealously. "Half-Dornish. And you're mine anyway."_

_Dany giggled again. "That was never in question, brother."_

_"Good." Viserys kissed her forehead. "Good."_

_Dany looked up at her brother, at her king, at the only person in the world who truly knew her, and could not stop another smile from spreading across her face. She leaned up and tugged his face down to hers so she could kiss him. his hands ran gently up and down her back, and the kiss deepened._

_"I shall tell the captains to sail for Dorne, your highnesses," Ser Barristan said tactfully. "Excuse me, I think I shall get some air." He left, closing the door carefully behind him. _

_Dany and Viserys looked into one another's eyes and laughed like children. "Everything is coming together for us now, Viserys," Dany whispered. "I love you."_

_"As I love you, sweetling," Viserys returned, lifting her gently onto the table with the map and leaning her backwards. "As I love you."_


End file.
